PROJ00427

• Contract/PO #: FS0028X
• Contractor Name: Avery Lake USBR 1976
• Contract Type: Miscellaneous
• Water District: 0
• County: Rio Blanco
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

CHAPTER III

BASIS FOR ANALYSES

reclamation project under existing law but would be equivalent to 160
acres of class 1 land. The production equivalent of 160 acres of class
1 land in the Yellow Jacket Project area is considered to be 235 acres of
class 2 land and 285 acres of class 3 land. Farms of these sizes would
return to the operator a living allowance of about $13,000 annually and
permit him to pay operation, maintenance, and replacement costs and to
make moderate payments toward project costs. Special legislation would
be necessary to permit delivery of project water to farms of more than
160 acres in single ownership. Such legislation would be consistent'
with provisions of the Colorado River Basin Act of September 30, 1968,
(82 Stat. 885).

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There are some lands in existing ownerships which are expected to
be in excess of the farm acreages that could be provided project water.
Some of the owners of these lands have expressed ,a willingness to dispose
of the excess lands through private sales. Some of the excess lands
occur in small scattered tracts and would probably be sold to owners of
smaller units for integration into their present holdings. The remain-
ing lands are in relatively large tracts and could probably be used for
formation of new units.

Cost Estimates

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Construction costs

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Construction costs of principal features for each plan were estimated
by the Bureau of Reclamation on the basis of January 1976 price levels.
The estimates were made from feasibility designs in some instances but
from only appraisal-level designs in others. The estimates were based on
a useful life of at least 100 years for each major project feature. They
include costs for rights-of-way and relocation of existing facilities.
Costs have been estimated only for features that would be Federally
financed. Water users would be required to construct additional fa-
cilities for treatment and distribution of the municipal and industrial
water supplies, but no estimates of the'costs of these facilities have
been made. Cost estimates for recreation and fish and wildlife pro-
visions were made by MOP subteam members using a comparison of other
developments in the region. The estimated cost of historic preservation
is an arbitrary figure which is considered adequate for the construction
of a small building and related features.

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Operation, maintenance, and replacement costs,

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The operation, maintenance, and replacement costs for all potential
features were estimated by the Bureau of Reclamation on the basis of
197~-75 prices. The estimates include costs of personnel, equipment,
materials, supplies, and replacements, as well as costs of power for proj-
ect pumping. It .as assumed that power required for pumping would be

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